Baptist applied to the state in December for permission to build the facility. The health care corporation also went before the Germantown Design Review Commission earlier this summer for preliminary and final plan approval; Duke Realty’s Blaine Paul was listed as the applicant.

The rehab hospital will sit on land near the intersection of South Germantown Road and Wolf River Boulevard.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Nineteenth Century Club Hearing Continues

Testimony continued for a third day Wednesday, Aug. 28, in the Shelby County Chancery Court hearing on the sale of the Nineteenth Century Club building.

At issue in the case before Chancellor Walter Evans is whether the sale to Union Group LLC was valid. Plaintiffs, some of whom are members of the nonprofit organization, are contesting it.

Club President Lynn Heathcott continued her testimony at Wednesday’s hearing. Heathcott, whose testimony began Tuesday afternoon, was president of the club during the building’s sale this year to the Union Group, which plans to demolish the building and build a restaurant.

Heathcott testified the club’s membership dwindled over the years and that the mansion needed repairs beyond the club’s capital budget to make.

On cross-examination, attorney and Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy questioned Heathcott about the membership vote to list the property for sale and to sell it to Union Group. Mulroy questioned what constituted a member in good standing for voting purposes and how much discretion Heathcott had in determining whether members who had paid their dues partially or were behind in the payments could vote.

– Bill Dries

Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence Expanding, Moving

“We want to make it easier for our more than 200 agency members from West Tennessee, East Arkansas and North Mississippi to engage with us and participate in events and networking,” said Nancy McGee, who leads the Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence.

McGee said the alliance has been working to let the Mid-South nonprofit sector know that the organization provides training, education, management consulting, research and advocacy outreach.

“The main thing we want to accomplish is for the nonprofit sector to develop a clearer understanding of what we do,” McGee said.

– Jennifer Johnson Backer

Small-Business Loan Workshop Scheduled for Sept. 9

Sue Malone, the founder of San Francisco-based group Strategies for Small Businesses, will facilitate a small-business loan workshop in Memphis Sept. 9.

The event, to be held at the Renaissance Business Center at 555 Beale St., will feature Malone discussing funding availability for startup businesses or expansion options for current businesses.

The public is invited to the workshop, which will be hosted by Tennessee Small Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration. It will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with another from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm. At the conclusion of the workshop, attendees can have a loan application ready to submit.

– Andy Meek

Battledish Competition Coming to Memphis

The international chef competition Battledish is coming to Downtown Memphis in October.

Six chefs will compete for titles such as “most delicious” and “most creative” as well as for best modern, best cocktail and “most authentic.”

The event is Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. All ticket holders will get to vote for their favorites, along with a panel of guest judges.

Chefs and other details will be released weekly. The contest website at dishcrawl.com/memphisbattle has more information and registration details.

– Andy Meek

Homeless Organizers Host ‘Know Your Rights’ Event

Members of Homeless Organizing for Power and Equality, an organization made up of men and women who are currently or formerly homeless, will be hosting the fourth in a series of “Know Your Rights” workshops for the city’s homeless.

The workshop will be Saturday, Aug. 31, at St. Mary’s Episcopal, 700 Poplar Ave.

Members of H.O.P.E.’s Street-Watch initiative will be available to help individuals fill out surveys about their experiences with the Memphis Police Department. Organizers with Street-Watch will also have complaint forms available to document instances of police harassment.

“We believe that over time, we can use data compiled from these complaints to pinpoint areas where police harassment is most likely to occur, what time of day or night, and begin to weed out officers who believe that a badge and a gun give them the right to treat people on the streets of Memphis like second-class citizens,” said Marcus Mitchell, a project organizer.

– Jennifer Johnson Backer

Walker Associates Hires PR/Social Media Coordinator

The marketing and communications firm Walker Associates has hired Grace Raffensberger as its public relations/social media coordinator.

She comes to the firm from Lancaster, Pa., where she was an assistant account executive for Reese, a full-service integrated marketing agency.

Antipsychotic Use Drops in Tennessee Nursing Homes

Tennessee nursing homes have dramatically decreased the use of antipsychotic drug use for residents living with dementia.

According to the state Health Department, antipsychotic drugs cost hundreds of millions of Medicare and Medicaid dollars and increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, falls with fractures, hospitalizations and other complications. Lowering the use of unnecessary antipsychotic medications improves residents’ quality of life and reduces health care costs.

Tennessee led the nation for antipsychotic use in nursing homes in the fourth quarter of 2011. By the first quarter of this year the state had dropped to 48th in the nation.

Tennessee reduced the use of the drugs by conducting training sessions for nursing home staff members across the state. The training was part of a nationwide initiative to improve dementia care.

– The Associated Press

Unemployment Rates Fall in Two-Thirds of US Cities

Unemployment rates fell in two-thirds of large U.S. metro areas in July, a sign of widespread improvement in the job market.

The Labor Department said unemployment rates fell in 239 of the nation’s 372 largest cities in July from June. Rates rose in 103 and were unchanged in 30.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to a 4.5-year low of 7.4 percent. That’s down from 7.6 percent in June. Employers added 162,000 jobs. That’s enough to lower the unemployment rate but below the average monthly gain of 192,000 this year.

Fewer cities are reporting unusually high unemployment rates. Forty-one cities reported a rate above 10 percent last month, down from 67 a year earlier.

At the same time, 34 cities had unemployment rates below 5 percent, nearly double the 18 in July 2012.

Some of the biggest declines were in resort cities, where unemployment likely fell because summer hiring picked up. Unlike the national data, the metro figures aren’t adjusted for such seasonal patterns. That can make the local figures more volatile.

Bismarck, N.D. had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent. Sioux Falls, S.D. had the second lowest at 3 percent, followed by Fargo, N.D., at 3.3 percent. The two states have benefited from an oil and gas drilling boom.

Yuma, Ariz. posted the highest rate at 34.5 percent, followed by El Centro, Calif., 26.1 percent. The two areas are perennially at the top of the list and are home to many migrant farm workers.